polyomyelitis or polio

Term: poliomyelitis or polio

Literally meaning: “inflammation of the grey bone marrow”

Origin: Anc Greek

πολιός/polios(=grey, old)

+μυελός/myelos(=bone marow, core)>μύω/myo(=be enclosed)

+(-ίτις )(modern Greek -ίτιδα)/-ites (=suffix which is used in Greek with the feminine noun η νόσος/ e nosos=disease, denoting “inflammation of”).

Coined/History

The disease called poliomyelitis because the gray matter in the spinal cord is inflamed, causing paralysis. Michael Underwood first described in 1789 a debility of the lower extremities in children that was recognizable as poliomyelitis in England. First description by Duchenne de Boulogne of the pathological process in disease with the involvement of the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. The first polio outbreaks in Europe were reported in the early 19th century, and polio outbreaks were first reported in the United States in 1843.

Definition

Poliomyelitis (or polio), is a highly infectious viral disease spread direct from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route and occurs under conditions of poor hygiene. Poliomyelitis occurs mainly among infants and young children affecting often the spinal cord causing muscle weakness and paralysis.